


First Move

by failuretoland



Category: WandaVision (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff without Plot, Friends to Lovers, Hexagang, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:56:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29939982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/failuretoland/pseuds/failuretoland
Summary: Post-Hex, Darcy and Jimmy keep dancing around each other. Who makes the first move?
Relationships: Darcy Lewis/Jimmy Woo
Comments: 11
Kudos: 40





	First Move

**Author's Note:**

> Trying my hand at this new ship! There's not a lot of plot, just a lot of fluff.

The mental gymnastics that Darcy had to deal with over the past couple of days was exhausting. And as she stood outside the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the anxiety of her back-and-forth thoughts just hit her full-force.

Truth be told, there was a perfectly valid reason for why she was in DC in the first place. She was meeting with her former dissertation adviser who had transferred to a university in the area. And it just so happened that she knew that a certain FBI agent was stationed at the main headquarters during that time.

Coincidence? Others might have disagreed, but Darcy preferred to believe that you have to make your own fate.

Following the fallout of the Westview Anomaly, there were several days of constant debriefing with the team and filing of various reports. Even on those days, she hardly saw her newfound buddies given that they each had different responsibilities. Monica was left to pick up the pieces of Hayward’s mess, Jimmy had to take point with all the interagency matters, and Darcy dealt with her own side of the bureaucracy. Darcy was eventually released from the clutches of reports and paperwork after a week or so, but she knew the other two were not as lucky. She was just a consultant on the project, after all, and they had bigger roles.

_Just filed my last report! Am finally free,_ she had texted them in their fledgling WhatsApp group. _Hope no other surprise witches or synthezoids come your way._

_Lucky girl,_ Monica was the first to reply an hour later. _Hayward had his hands in deep, looks like I’m in it for the long haul. Enjoy your freedom!_

Darcy wasn’t surprised, but she couldn’t say she wasn’t disappointed. She did, however, feel more crushed by the following message.

_I don’t think I’m getting away soon either,_ said Jimmy. _They had me stationed at the main HQ in DC for another month._

It wasn't that she didn’t enjoy Monica’s company… but she and Jimmy _had a thing._ At least, she thought they did. It started with all those late-night binges of Wanda’s simulated TV show. Technically, they were working. But there’s something about spending an inordinate amount of time pouring over old timey scenes of a suburban couple that just brings two people together.

She was about to send a separate message to Jimmy, but he beat her to the punch. _Totally jealous of you right now. Enjoy the outside world for me._

_At least you don’t need to face Dickward everyday anymore,_ she sent back. Admittedly, that wasn’t the best nickname she could come up with, but it was an accurate representation of the man.

_Don’t get me wrong, he truly deserves time behind bars. But having to deal with him again would be a small price to pay if it meant I’d be back watching_ WandaVision _episodes with you_ , came the reply. She’d be lying if she claimed that didn’t make her melt.

Darcy always went after what she wanted. She wouldn’t be Dr. Lewis otherwise. And relationships were not an exception to that. Her supposedly too strong, go-getter of a personality had been a deterrent to others. In the past, many a man commented on how she should perhaps temper that side of her if she wanted to attract more guys. First of all, _how dare they._ Second of all, it was not her primary goal in life to find a boyfriend. She was not some wild bird that needed to put on a show to catch the attention of a potential mate.

She never got that vibe from Jimmy. She never even had to correct him about her title. Around him, she was Darcy and Dr. Lewis at the same time; she didn’t need to change anything about herself around him. Between her rapidfire discussions of the relic radiation coming from the Hex, and her constant desire for better snacks and coffee while watching, Jimmy kept up with her. And that was attractive as hell.

_I’ll see you as soon as the bureau lets me go, I promise,_ was the last message from him. 

It was a simple message, but that spurred her on to go get what she wanted. And what she wanted came in the form of her favorite affable FBI agent. The question was: _how?_

To whichever higher power that might had been listening to her plight, Darcy sent a silent prayer of thanks because an answer came almost immediately. A little after that WhatsApp exchange, she received an email from her adviser. Dr. Olsen had heard of her participation in the unfortunate events of Westview, New Jersey, and wanted to pick her brain about it. Now, one wouldn’t call that as an obligation she had to attend to immediately. In fact, Darcy would have likely ignored this on any other occasion. But considering that Dr. Olsen taught in DC now, this was the exact opportunity she needed.

_Of course, Dr. O! And what a great coincidence, I’m actually going to be in the DC area next week. We could meet up then,_ Darcy had replied to the email. Was Darcy really coincidentally going to be in DC at that time? No. Did Dr. Olsen need to know that? Also, no.

On the drive up, she almost turned back around about ten times. And given that it was just a four-hour drive, that was a lot. War was waging in her brain about what she was going to do. The irrational side of her brain was incessantly questioning her behavior. Why was she doing this in the first place? Was she just wasting her time? Would Jimmy be put off by her gesture and decide that this… _thing_ wasn’t actually a thing? On the other hand, the logical side of her would answer back by replaying in her mind the things that Jimmy had done to prove her wrong: bringing her coffee, lending her his jacket on cold nights, leaving her notes on her monitor, writing small jokes on the paperwork that they exchanged… _And need I remind you,_ she told herself sternly. _He explicitly said that he wanted to see you when all of this was over._ That was enough to keep her driving until she got to DC.

Now that she was standing outside the FBI’s main headquarters, the irrational side was rearing its ugly head yet again. The fact that she was even experiencing this Jekyll-and-Hyde-esque internal conundrum was actually baffling her. She didn’t feel this conflicted with anything else in her life. Truth be told, this may very well be the first time she ever experienced this. And now, she’s quite clueless as to what to do next. The determined side of her brought her as far as walking up to the unmistakable low-rise office building of the FBI along Pennsylvania Avenue, but Darcy hadn’t really planned for anything beyond that.

She was spared from further awkward contemplation of to enter or not to enter when her phone rang. Her first thought was, _Who still calls nowadays? Can’t they just send a message?_ , and was a little irritated. She had every intention of ignoring the call, as she had more pressing matters to attend to… until she saw who it was.

“Oh hey bud, missing me already?” asked Darcy, trying to mask any of the earlier anxiety she felt.

Jimmy’s responding chuckle made her heart flutter a little. He then replied, “If I said yes, will you tase me?”

“Lucky for you, I don’t have my taser with me.”

“I hope to never be on the receiving end of that,” he teased back.

“Keep bringing me chips and coffee, and you’re good,” she said and he laughed again.

“I’m not disturbing you, am I?” he asked, his tone suddenly serious.

“As there are no more reality-bending hexes to worry about, I find my schedule blissfully empty.”

“Like I said, completely jealous,” he said. “All I have to look forward to on a Friday night is more work.”

Darcy didn’t respond immediately. This might just be the opening she needed. _Now or never,_ she chided herself. Treading lightly, she asked, “Think you can set that aside for one night?”

“Why? Got a new show we can binge-watch?”

“No, but I was thinking maybe dinner,” she said as calmly and coolly as she could manage.

There was a pause. For a moment, Darcy thought he didn’t hear her. But he eventually answered, “Like over FaceTime…?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Like I was hoping you’d know a nice restaurant here in DC.”

Another pause. Frankly, if she didn’t like Jimmy so much, she definitely would have used her taser on him. Surely it wasn’t difficult to put two and two together and figure out what she was telling him. That fraction of time without a response from him was enough to send Darcy into another bout of self-questioning. She was about to rescind her proposition, but thankfully he started speaking. Or stammering, more like. “Darcy… wha— whe— _are you here?_ ” 

“Surprise?”

“Where exactly are you, Darcy?”

Squinting up at the building in front of her, she replied, “So should I just enter and ask the front desk for the super-important Agent Woo? Or is there some special back entrance you G-men use?”

She could hear a significant amount of shuffling on the other end of the phone, and even a distinct muttering of “Geez Louise” from a very flustered FBI agent. Darcy laughed again and found herself smiling stupidly at his earnestness. She was also glad to discover that she was ruffling his feathers just as much as he did hers.

“Right,” said Jimmy after a while. “Give me a minute, and I’ll meet you in the lobby?”

She backtracked a bit and worriedly repeated his own question to him, “Wait, _I’m_ not disturbing _you_ , right?”

“Darcy,” he said. She could hear the smile in his voice as he quelled her fear. “Sure, this is a surprise. But it’s a _very good_ one.”

* * *

Jimmy normally loved his job. As he was usually assigned in the regional office, he relished in the rare opportunity to report to the main headquarters. Now, however, all he wanted was to be relinquished from the responsibilities of work. There were a million other places he would rather be right now, but he was unfortunately stuck with the aftermath of whatever Wanda Maximoff had unleased. There were so many things on the docket for him: making sure that nobody in Westview was suffering from long-term and permanent damage, checking up with neighboring towns in New Jersey if they were affected, and _still_ looking for his damned missing witness.

The feeling was exacerbated even further by a short conversation he had with Monica. (“Conversation” was putting it lightly, as the Captain was clearly chastising him.)

_You better already have a plan for the minute you leave DC,_ read Monica’s message separate from their group. He knew what she was referring to, of course. How could he not? And clearly, it was no use to feign ignorance as she immediately followed her message with another. _Don’t even attempt to play dumb with me. You know what I’m talking about._

_I wasn’t going to, Captain,_ he responded.

_Forgive me if I don’t believe that,_ she said. Well, it was worth a shot.

After a while of figuring out what to respond, he simply settled with replying: _I don’t know where to start. It’s much easier if we were in the same state._ Jimmy didn't bother lying; he didn’t even know where exactly Darcy was, which made his predicament harder. All he knew was that once things wrapped up in New Jersey, the three of them went their separate ways: Monica and Darcy to wherever S.W.O.R.D. HQ was (he’s a little ashamed to admit that he doesn’t know the location of that either; perhaps it was a secret), and he to DC. Once Darcy accomplished all she needed to, he assumed she headed home, but the details of that remain elusive to him.

Locations aside, Jimmy was at least certain that there was something brewing between them. At least, he would _like_ to think that it was something certain. The first time either of them had acknowledged it was when they were unceremoniously questioned by Monica. She had walked in on them as they were supposed to be investigating the ‘80s episode and the surprise appearance of Pietro 2.0. Instead, she was greeted with the sight of Darcy in an FBI jacket and Jimmy trying to teach her close-up magic. They had been giggling over Darcy’s latest unsuccessful attempt that ended with cards tumbling to the floor. Wanda and Vision’s intense quarrel was playing in the background but it remained largely ignored by the two. The only explanation Monica received was an ineloquent response from Darcy who simply announced that they had a _thing_ and an extremely red-faced Jimmy who couldn’t look the Captain in the eye. Since then, it became an endearing joke between the three of them.

_Well, you can start with just expressing intent,_ came Monica’s reply to his message. And being the diligent man that he was, that’s exactly what he did. Not even a minute after that, Jimmy sent another message to Darcy and told her that he had every intention of seeing her soon. He just hoped that soon truly was… well, soon.

Jimmy wasn’t a complete novice at dating. Opportunities to develop relationships were hard to come by, and that was just another hazard of his job. It was the classic case of having much of his day-to-day life being focused on work. Some suggested finding someone within the bureau, but that didn’t sound appealing at all. Most FBI agents are very FBI-agent-like, if that made sense at all, and he had enough of work _at_ work. The very little time he had outside of his job wasn’t enough to maintain something meaningful. He was never the kind to indulge in fleeting affairs, either. Over time, it just kept being nudged down his list of priorities.

Now that he did something promising in front of him, of course his job would snatch time away from him, and whatever it could be is in a bit of a limbo. Jimmy insisted to himself that there was a silver lining to all this: he could probably use this time to prepare for when he would see Darcy. He would go about this the right way (whatever that is), and try not to mess it up. Not only did he want to not actually ruin his chances, but he is man enough to admit to being genuinely frightened of the wrath of Monica Rambeau.

So when Darcy dropped the bomb on him that she was in DC and would like to have dinner, Jimmy’s brain short-circuited. All he wanted when he decided to call her was to have a little chat and hopefully she would brighten his otherwise dreary day spent working. Now, he was scrambling to come up with a game plan for the night. He was making a rapidfire enumeration of all the possible nearby restaurants he could take her to or the movies they could watch. None of the prospects felt right; none of them felt _like Darcy_. And he just kept drawing a blank on what to do. He even debated taking the stairs just so he had a longer time to think, but he eventually decided on taking the elevator so she wouldn’t have to wait long. With all of these thoughts muddling his brain, it was a wonder that he still had the presence of mind to call the receptionist in the lobby that he’s expecting a Dr. Lewis to avoid unnecessary questioning. 

By the time he reached the lobby, it felt like he did indeed chose the stairs instead of the elevator. He’s pretty sure he even looked like it. His breathing and heart rate shot up at the idea of seeing her, and it made him feel very much like a teenager all over again. At the risk of sounding even cheesier, Jimmy definitely felt more breathless when he caught sight of her.

In the middle of the waiting area, among the many agents in crisp and dark suits, was Dr. Darcy Lewis. In her usual garb of a sweater-jeans-boots combo, she was a stark contrast to the formal wear and bureau-issued garments that his co-workers typically wear. She surely stood out, and he decided that it was absolutely a good thing.

“Darcy,” he called out. The woman in question looked up and flashed him a bright smile behind those distinctly red lips. Jimmy’s own smile was just as bright.

* * *

Hours later, the two of them were seated across each enjoying their dinner. The conversation leading up to this moment was a scramble by both parties to figure out what was appropriate. Jimmy was quick to suggest one of the classier restaurants, to which Darcy just as quickly disagreed. She didn’t want him to feel obliged to do the whole wine-and-dine spectacle; at the same time, he also wanted to make sure she was treated right. It was an awkward dance to figure out what to do, where to go, "oh you don't have to"s, and "that's okay"s. Until Jimmy suggested a decent-enough diner near his Airbnb in the city. As soon as the suggestion left his mouth, the awkwardness resurfaced: he started stuttering about respecting Darcy’s virtue and not wanting to suggest anything too indelicate.

Darcy couldn’t help but smile and laugh at the flushed face of James E. Woo. Again, she was reminded of how much she appreciated his sincerity. “Don’t sweat it, dude,” she said. “We’re both adults, right? And if it does lead to a tumble in your place, I’m sure there wouldn’t be complaints on either end.”

All Jimmy could do was let out an embarrassed laugh in response and agree. He was still blushing until they entered the diner.

As they continued talking about anything and everything over their meal, Jimmy looked back to the many late nights they spent doing the same thing. Many nights found them being the only ones left awake in the Response Base. He was glad to find someone who didn’t brush him off. Some found his assiduousness a little off-putting, but Darcy actually liked hearing about his thoughts. He wasn’t normally the type to blurt out to anyone that he imagined having little Jimmy Woos with tiny FBI badges, but somehow that’s exactly what he did. Darcy didn’t laugh; in fact, it became a subject of conversation on one of those nights. In turn, she shared her own life aspirations now that she's earned a doctorate. More than just talk about where they wanted to be, they talked about where they had been and where they were at the time. He recalled thinking that he never expected to get anything out of this assignment, aside from mountains of paperwork. And yet, here he was, sitting across a wonderful dark-haired astrophysicist who made him believe that maybe magic was real, more than card tricks or real-life witches ever did.

Darcy must have noticed that he was reminiscing, because she lightly snapped her fingers to catch his attention.

“What’s gotten you smiling like that?” she asked.

“Oh,” began Jimmy. “Well, you.”

Darcy blinked, a little startled. Then she reacted the same way she did when she was watching Wanda give birth during the 70's episode. “Aww shucks man, you really are turning up your Jimmy Woo-ing, huh?”

Jimmy responded with a chuckle. “I’m just glad you’re here, that’s all.”

She beamed at him. All of her earlier internal battles suddenly dissipated. Why she was even worried at all that he would balk at her effort to be with him, Darcy wasn’t sure. At least now she was absolutely certain that she wasn’t wasting her time.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Jimmy said suddenly, fishing his phone out from his pocket.

“What?”

“I’m under strict orders by one Captain Rambeau to make sure I actually do something about this, and I want to send her proof of it.”

* * *

_To: Capt. M. Rambeau_

_Fr: J. E. Woo_

__

_I am nothing if not a man of my word._


End file.
